I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatuses for winding fire hoses and, in particular, to an apparatus which is of a collapsible construction.
II. Description of the Prior Art
After a fire-fighting operation, each length of fire hose must be wound up at the scene of the fire for the return trip to the fire station. At the station the hose must be unrolled and placed on drying racks and then wound up again for storage. Furthermore, safety regulations require that all fire hose be unwound and inspected at regular intervals and, of course, the hose must be rewound for storage. Virtually all of these winding operations are presently performed by the firemen manually winding the hose into a spiral roll. Before the manual winding operation is begun, the firemen must drain the water from the hose and arrange the hose into a straight line.
Apparatuses for winding hose have been proposed, and examples of such prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,124,321 and 4,057,198. U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,321 describes a device having a gasoline engine which drives a reel about a horizontal axis through a series of sprocket chains and gear reducers. The reel includes a large disc member from which extends a pair of tines for engaging the coupling member at one end of the hose. A hose guide adapts the device to different widths of hose. One disadvantage of this device is that the hose is not sufficiently compressed or otherwise acted upon by the apparatus to automatically drain the water from the hose, and therefore the hose must be drained as a step preparatory to winding. Another disadvantage to this product is that it is complicated in design requiring a variety of elements to achieve the desired goal of winding the hose.
The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,198 has a horizontal base mounted on four wheels and an upright support structure which mounts a reel assembly. The reel assembly includes a circular disc mounted on a drive shaft which is driven by a hand crank. The disc has a pair of outwardly extending, elongated tines for engaging the male coupling member of a hose, with the hose being directed to the reel past an idler roller and an adjustable hose guide assembly which serves to compress the hose and drain any water which may be present. The adjustable guide also serves to align the hose with the tines so that it does not have to be straightened before the winding operation. This device has disadvantages in that it requires considerable structure and components in order to achieve the desired goal of spirally winding the hose. Both structures disclosed in the aforementioned patents are large, cumbersome and are not collapsible for easy storage.